The first three minutes were a blistering blur, with Melo’s four seal-breaking hoists shredding nylon and sending crowd to roars. Then, a turning point: Complain about a no-call on one end; jog back lazily while Jeff Green buries a quarter-ending three at the other. The second quarter that followed was a total shitshow – Bass and Green continually rooted Melo off his favorite spots, goading him into contested jumpers with scarce a retortive skip pass. Seeing Melo stand idly by as Avery Bradley cut unmolested to the tin on two consecutive trips, ostensibly as the last line of defense, certainly didn’t help.

The second act commenced in much the same fashion — Melo forcing the issue and seeming reluctant to trust in movement. But big buckets at just the right moments, while foisting himself into many a defensive scrum (4 steals on the day, helped save the day. The dagger: When KG’s perimeter help left K-Mart wide open for a laser pass that very nearly sailed into the stands. Instead, Martin banked home the back-breaker, giving KG a nasty tipper on his way back up the court.

Anyway, the efficiency went on a bender, but at last the balls were swinging.

Shump who hesitates is lost, and that’s exactly what marked Iman’s first half – plenty of good looks, a little too much deferring (or out-and-out reckless driving). The defense was passable, particularly during the second unit’s impressive start to the second. Early second half foul trouble – combined with Kidd’s subsequent two-way heady play – kept Shump pine strapped most of the rest of the way. Prescription: More raw beef.

Wednesday’s shoulder tweak was apparently enough to warrant one of those half-body wet suit things, which may or may not have contributed to Cope’s limited burn. He did take a charge on Pierce, but attempted just two shots and spent most of the afternoon rubbing Sheed’s bunions.

Even the training staff’s cutting edge treatment — stitching Chandler’s head to his neck with old shoelaces — proved mostly futile. Tyson was particularly brutal on offense, where he could be found out of positions numerous times and where the typical impassioned tap-outs and board work were replaced by wistful indifference. He wasn’t so bad on D, although that had more to do with the Cs making their living on the perimeter for a good grip of the minutes Chandler was out there. Hopefully the burn helped to chip off the rust, because he has a shipwreck’s worth right now.

Raymond Felton is on steroids. How else are we supposed to explain this three-minute sequence: Block an Avery Bradley jumper; snatch TWO high post lobs out of mid-air; nearly dunk in traffic. Over Kevin Garnett. Such were the highlights of an eminently passable first half, and a positive sign that the moment won’t be too mammoth for our lightning rod point.

A timely three and tough-fade-away jumper to start the fourth were probably Ray’s most memorable second half contributions. For the most part, he was poised, prescient, and fleet of foot – never doing too, too much, but never shrinking from a moment’s calling. We could use a little more dribble-drive action, but for the most part, if this is the Ray we can come to expect, we’s gonna be alright.

Poetic: Getting called for a moving screen on KG seconds after setting foot on the floor. Pornographic: Sending Jason Terry’s helpless drive to half court just a minute later. With Chandler hacking up lung bits and rust and the Celtics getting a little too comfortable operating in the paint, Woodson turned to Martin with a single, emphatic directive: EAT FACES. Next to Melo – and arguably the team defense writ large – there was no more indispensable a presence down the stretch than K-Mart’s. After a brilliantly clean swipe of a would-be Jeff Green bunny, Martin raced to the other end and banked home a crucial lay-in to give the Bockers the lead for the last time. Credit Martin for giving the Knicks a secondary P&R look to help aid the spacing. And for that dagger bucket. And for clawing out Avery Bradley’s eye out that one time. Everything, really.

Man. Jason Kidd. Not only did Papa Smarts do a shockingly good job checking Pierce for extended stretches with Shump in foul trouble; he was single-handedly responsible for at least six or seven of the Knicks’ 15 steals (three outright, and the rest by way of karate deflections). Knock down a couple threes, make the right reads, be a goddam pest everywhere else – it’s the Jason Kidd way, and it’s truly a sight to behold.

One of the omnipresent narratives heading into the playoffs was whether Earl would follow up his stellar regular season stretch with the mean regression of Right Said Fred. A solid first half (11 points on 5-7 shooting), punctuated by a violent, driving throw-down, petered into bouts of bad habits and even worse shots down the stretch. On D, he did a fine job whenever he wasn’t defending Pierce, and got into the lane-hawking game late.

Oh, and all y’all who kvetch about us getting burned by bitching at the refs after no calls? J.R. did it and raced back for a steal. It totally works.

Five Things We Saw

Really, could you’ve asked for a better atmosphere? Springtime in The City, a classy act of pre-game solidarity, and two ancient rivals joined for yet another battle. That sport can help heal hearts and mend even the most monstrously-wrought wounds is a story so oft-told as to border on hagiography. With Melo dialed in early, MSG’s thunder was rolling. When the shots stopped falling and the refs were trolling, its vitriol helped keep the blood pumping. Playoff basketball, y’all.

After a splendid start, the Knicks once again fell victim to that season-old temptress: shitty refs making shitty calls – at both ends, really. Tyson got a tech (terrible call), Shump got whistled for a few chippies, and all of a sudden the Celtics had us right where they wanted us – wasting our energy refreshing the box score to check the foul count. Things evened out a bit down the stretch, and the Knicks started to let even the occasional blown call roll harmlessly off shoulder. Still, it’ll be something to monitor as the series extends.

The Polish Army called: They want their shitty defense back. A 126 offensive efficiency in the first half? For a team on which Brandon Bass is the fourth scoring option? Granted, the Celtics were making a living on the perimeter in the early going, but when they started feeding cutters and taking it more aggressively to the tin, the Knicks simply didn’t have an answer. Luckily, the Knicks ratcheted it up in the second, matching the Cs grab for grab and push for push, basically daring the refs to discriminate. Without a legitimate point guard to weather the New York spurts, the Celtics fell apart in a blizzard of careless turnovers and an eight point final stanza that showed what the Knick D is capable of.

Speaking of Defense: Boston’s was pretty terrible with KG on the pine. Luckily, the Knicks were able to marshal enough in the way of effective dribble-drive action to make it hurt.

Jeff Green was unstoppable for 30 minutes, I guess? I don’t know. I was too busy wiping the blood from my nose after the first five shots went in.

@netw3rk summed it up best: “Great game. Oh look, my hair’s falling out.” If this is to be the pitch and timbre of the series to come, I might as well schedule my check-in to the old folks home forty years early. The Knicks managed to run headlong into every possible pitfall – lack of ball movement, half-assed defense, ref-baiting – before getting their shit together and stringing together enough bursts of effective offense to keep the evil bastards at bay. Still, the Celtics came to play, and, even if they end up bowing out, they intend to do so by beating the living hell out of us and making life as difficult as humanly possible for Carmelo Anthony and — by necessary extension — all of us.

60 comments on “Knicks 85, Celtics 78”

We got nervous when the Knicks went down seven. Defense brought them back.

Kenyon Martin is much savvier than I ever realized. A long way from the ugliness with Alonzo Mourning in NJ.

I cannot tell you how jacked up I got for JR Smith’s down-the-lane slam in the first half. i just wish that the Celtics did not answer back immediately with a 3.

If I am Miami, I still think that the way to defend Melo is to front him in the Melo post and force the Knicks to reverse the ball. There should be some EASY baskets for ‘Melo on the reversal and lob. Knicks have not been doing a good job of making that happen.

I loved the 4th quarter possession where ‘Melo got the ball at the 3 point line on the right side, passed to the guard on the wing and took the ball on a quick give-and-go on the blocks. Even though Melo missed the shot, that is a great look and ‘Melo is not going to be doubled in that position.

Copeland has to be better than he played in the first half. Chandler has to be better than he played throughout the game.

The crowd was AWESOME. Even did the right thing during the pre-game speech by Paul Pierce.

We all know about Melo’s flaws and how there are alot of people on this site who arent exactly his biggest fans. Ive mostly defended his play here (especially in the months after the trade) but Ive never really totally warmed up to him.

But right now Im all in with Melo. His play for basically this entire season but especially in the final month and in the 4th quarter today has me feeling grateful that we have Melo and Boston doesnt. It is the same in the next round, as tough as the Pacers are the difference will be we have Melo and they dont. Unfortunately that advantage is kinda mooted vs the Heat lol.

One final thing on Melo. During the Riley years when Ewing was far and away the #1 option (just like Melo is now) down the stretch I just wanted the ball in his hands. If we were going to win or lose I wanted him to do so. I never got upset or mad when the Knicks lost if Ewing took the final shots. I was willing to live or die with him. I feel the exact same way with Melo now.

BigBlueAL: One final thing on Melo. During the Riley years when Ewing was far and away the #1 option (just like Melo is now) down the stretch I just wanted the ball in his hands. If we were going to win or lose I wanted him to do so. I never got upset or mad when the Knicks lost if Ewing took the final shots. I was willing to live or die with him. I feel the exact same way with Melo now.

Yeah, I hear you BBA, but the ’70 and ’73 Knicks was that you trusted 4-5 guys with the last shot. Same with the 80’s Celts and Lakers, and the 00’s Spurs. Even with the Jordan Bulls, he made guys like Paxon and Kerr dagger throwers, not to mention Pippen.

Would have been nice to have seen JR hit one of those several wide-open 3’s in the fourth. Maybe this win will calm the jitters a bit, and Melo came up big at the end to bring the win home, so he earned his $20 mil today.

You’d think the Bulls would be much better built for playoff basketball than the Nets, but who knows. The Bulls were 29th in the NBA in eFG%… That’s gotta come back to bite them in the ass sooner or later.

I have to say, I never feared a game 1 loss more than I did in this game. It’s a combination of profound hatred (and thereby respect) for the Celts and, well, when’s the last time we won a game 1 in the playoffs? When’s the last time we were EXPECTED to win a game 1?

Don’t paint me as a ‘Melo fanboy, but the final ‘Melo pass reminded me of the Jordan pass to Bill Wennington in the double nickel game. Everyone knew that Jordan was going to take that shot, so when he passed to Wennington, he was wide open for a bunny. Same thing this afternoon. Everyone knew that ‘Melo was going to attack on that play, so when he hit K-Mart on the dive to the basket, there was no one to put up defense.

Melo’s game (except for the first five minutes) was not in the realm of Jordan’s double nickel, but that one play was.

I loved Melo’s comments afterwards. Rough paraphrase – we haven’t done anything except hold serve in our first home game. He did not seem at all satisfied with the performance or impressed with the victory. I think (and hope) he gets it.

Z-man: Yeah, I hear you BBA, but the ’70 and ’73 Knicks was that you trusted 4-5 guys with the last shot. Same with the 80?s Celts and Lakers, and the 00?s Spurs. Even with the Jordan Bulls, he made guys like Paxon and Kerr dagger throwers, not to mention Pippen.

Would have been nice to have seen JR hit one of those several wide-open 3?s in the fourth. Maybe this win will calm the jitters a bit, and Melo came up big at the end to bring the win home, so he earned his $20 mil today.

I felt the same way with the 1999-2000 Knicks. Houston, Spree, LJ or Ewing could take the shots down the stretch and I was fine with it.

I mean dont get me wrong, if they can get open looks for other players then fine. This team has 8 guys who shot 35% or better from 3pt range so any of them with an open look I will take that shot any time. But in a game like today (and Im sure most of the games vs the Pacers in the next round) vs a very good defensive team where there are alot of ugly possessions on offense which results in guys other than Melo trying to create late in the clock I hate it. Down the stretch I want the ball in Melo’s hands period. It strangely has a calming effect on me lol.

maxwell_3g:
we have to be rooting for chicago right?besides our dislike of brooklynn, the bulls are more likely to beat up on the heat and the second round??maybe slam lebron to the floor a couple of times???

We”, Evans was voted the dirtiest player in the league, so maybe he roughs up Miami as well? Especially if Noah stays out….

Grinding out a victory in the playoffs against a rival is a good win and it shows maturity. Depending how the Celtics react in game two the Knicks may be able to take a lot of a spirit out of Boston for the rest of the series. On a day when the offense was jerky they gutted out a win on their home floor, that’s all that matters.

Everyone keeps acting like the Heat are a shoo-in, but they are never more than one Lebron injury away from being a very ordinary team. For at least that reason, I think the Knicks have a non-neglible chance to get out of the East.

BigBlueAL: I felt the same way with the 1999-2000 Knicks.Houston, Spree, LJ or Ewing could take the shots down the stretch and I was fine with it.

I mean dont get me wrong, if they can get open looks for other players then fine.This team has 8 guys who shot 35% or better from 3pt range so any of them with an open look I will take that shot any time.But in a game like today (and Im sure most of the games vs the Pacers in the next round) vs a very good defensive team where there are alot of ugly possessions on offense which results in guys other than Melo trying to create late in the clock I hate it.Down the stretch I want the ball in Melo’s hands period.It strangely has a calming effect on me lol.

No, I totally agree, I just think that nobody else comes close to giving us that level of comfort, and that makes it a bit easier for teams to defend us. Another good example is the big 3 Celts, did it really matter whethet Allen, Pierce or Garnett took the big shot? With us, you know who the ball is going to 95% of the time.

maxwell_3g:
we have to be rooting for chicago right?besides our dislike of brooklynn, the bulls are more likely to beat up on the heat and the second round??maybe slam lebron to the floor a couple of times???

I think the Nets have a much better chance against the Heat than this hobbled Bulls lineup. And who knows, maybe Joe Johnson blows up against MIA?

I will say this Melo for the most part has shown he will make the right pass if doubled late in the game when necessary. Hell he did it in Game 2 vs the Celtics in 2011 but unfortunately Jared Jeffries was the guy he was passing too then not KMart like today.

BigBlueAL:
I will say this Melo for the most part has shown he will make the right pass if doubled late in the game when necessary.Hell he did it in Game 2 vs the Celtics in 2011 but unfortunately Jared Jeffries was the guy he was passing too then not KMart like today.

Ouch, that still hurts. Melo had a Bernard King quality performance that night, but Jared Jeffries’ inability to catch the ball was the turd in the punchbowl.

Z-man:
One other caveat, 35% from 3 means that you miss 65% of the time, so while it is a good overal %, it doesn’t mean you want to live or die in the last 2 minutes on those shots from, say, Felton.

Oh yeah I know I just meant its not like I want Melo to take every shot and screw it. I just want the ball in his hands and let him make a decision of when to pass and shoot. If he passes the ball to an open 3pt shooter I am totally fine with it since he has a bunch of teammates who can shoot it. Obviously if he can find an open KMart or Chandler at the basket even better.

Hey if the offense is humming and running smoothly like it was against OKC in the 4th quarter then hell no need to just ISO Melo all the time down the stretch. Im talking about games like today where the offense just has no flow and nothing good was happening with Melo not touching the ball. Its nice to have a player like him where you can just get him the ball and feel good about your chances of scoring or at least getting a shot up that feels like it can go in.

Except Lebron is not human – he doesn’t get injured. He’s built like a pick-up truck, bodies just bounce off him… still a great time to be a Knicks fan though =)

ephus:
Everyone keeps acting like the Heat are a shoo-in, but they are never more than one Lebron injury away from being a very ordinary team.For at least that reason, I think the Knicks have a non-neglible chance to get out of the East.

BigBlueAL:
Hey if the offense is humming and running smoothly like it was against OKC in the 4th quarter then hell no need to just ISO Melo all the time down the stretch.Im talking about games like today where the offense just has no flow and nothing good was happening with Melo not touching the ball.Its nice to have a player like him where you can just get him the ball and feel good about your chances of scoring or at least getting a shot up that feels like it can go in.

Agree 100%. Look, Melo is one of the great offensive players of his time. He has more ways to score than pretty much anyone. It’s that much better when he makes passes like the one to K-Mart (although to be fair, it was a GREAT catch and finish of a hot, offline pass).

Sippin’ some scotch I got for my 55th b-day last week, Balvenie 15yo single barrel for you single malt fans out there. Can’t wait until the next game, although it’s nice to have 3 days to savor this one.

Melo didn’t play one game, He got ejected in the 4th of a close game with 7 minutes left of another, and the Bulls have good wing defenders who can guard both JR and Melo… combined they had some really inefficient shooting nights against the Bulls..even in that close overtime loss, Melo and JR shot a combined 24 – 61 from the field. If Melo and JR can consistently put efficient nights together in the same game…watch out NBA…they were doing that during our end of season winning streak

BigBlueAL:
How the hell did the Knicks go 0-4 vs the Bulls this season.

That game was wild! A game 1 loss against Boston would have been a nightmare. Nice to snuff out that possibility with an ugly win. K-Mart was an absolute beast, but Chandler is going to have to wake the fuck up–he was just awful out there. You also can’t tell me that Amar’e would not have been better for 20 minutes than the Cope/Novak combo that gave us absolutely nothing.

Celtics bench is beyond pathetic. No FG, no assists and only 4 FTs from Courtney Lee. Only 51 bench minutes, and there are no likely candidates to step up in the rest of the series. Knicks should be able to rachet up the intensity and grind the Celtics down. If Prigioni comes back, it gets even more lopsided off the bench.

Z-man:
Sippin’ some scotch I got for my 55th b-day last week, Balvenie 15yo single barrel for you single malt fans out there. Can’t wait until the next game, although it’s nice to have 3 days to savor this one.

Z-man:
Sippin’ some scotch I got for my 55th b-day last week, Balvenie 15yo single barrel for you single malt fans out there. Can’t wait until the next game, although it’s nice to have 3 days to savor this one.

If 2009-10 Deron Williams returns (and he has looked pretty spry tonight), the Nets are really tough out for the Heat. The Nets actually have the ability to defend both Wade and Lebron (with Johnson and Wallace). I would expect the Heat to feature Bosh in the PnR or Pick and Pop to make Lopez, Evans and/or Blatche play defense in space.

How cool would a 2/3 train series be for the Eastern Conference finals?

I think the worst offensive team I ever saw was the 1984-85 Knicks after Bernard King went down. They literally ran the offense through Louis Orr. The scoring numbers were not horrible, but the pace of the game was much different at that time.

2) NBA playoff series famously don’t really start until a team loses at home, so let’s hope this one doesn’t start until we get to Boston.

3) another long-time truism is that while stars tend to show up on the road in the postseason, role players are much more likely to shine at home and often disappear on the road. this was an extreme example of this, but I would expect more from the Celtic bench in the Boston games at least.

4) obviously the big question is how much of Chandler’s suckitude was rust and how much is he’s still hurt. if it’s mostly the latter, then we actually could use Amar’e back ASAP.

5) if Prigioni is back in game 2, presumably he starts and we don’t worry about the initial matchups? Chandler/Garnett, Bass/Melo, Green/Shumpert, Pierce/Felton, Bradley/Prigioni? that would be a strange game to watch, so many mismatches both ways.

ephus:
If 2009-10 Deron Williams returns (and he has looked pretty spry tonight), the Nets are really tough out for the Heat.The Nets actually have the ability to defend both Wade and Lebron (with Johnson and Wallace). I would expect the Heat to feature Bosh in the PnR or Pick and Pop to make Lopez, Evans and/or Blatche play defense in space.

How cool would a 2/3 train series be for the Eastern Conference finals?

The Heat were 3-0 vs the Nets this season winning by 30, 13 then by 20 in Brooklyn on January 30.

You could argue all those games were early in the season (all before the All-Star break) and the Nets are playing their best ball right now but so are the Heat.

The Nets have zero chance against Miami. The only team in the East that has a hope of beating the Heat in a 7 game series is the Knicks. Low turnover rate, extremely adept three point shooting and an advantage on the glass. The Nets would have an advantage on the glass, but Brook Lopez sprinting back on defense would be hilarious to watch for 4 games as Lebron and Wade blow by for dunk after dunk.

I was three and I’m sure I was surrounded by my entire Boston loving family. Ewing obviously with a masterpiece here, but Oakley with a classic Oakley game as well. Definitely there would be nothing sweeter, other than a title, than to eliminate Boston in 4 on their home floor.

I was 9 years old (a month shy of my 10th birthday) playing in a baseball game. We had a doubleheader and I wasnt playing the 2nd game so my job was to run back and forth between the bleachers (where the uncle of one of the players on the team was watching the game on a little TV) and the field where my coach wanted constant updates lol.

I will never forget how excited we got when Ewing hit that crazy 3pter.

Reading the Boston papers, their attitude is maybe the C’s had a good shot at winning but threw it away with mistakes. They have a point. But maybe it’s also true what’s noted above and we learned the hard way last year. Teams really need good point guard play when defenses get tough in the playoffs.

I honestly don’t understand the argument that Boston should feel good about yesterday’s game. The Knicks offense was horrible for 2/3 of the game, Chandler didn’t do anything and Green/Bradley had huge games. I can’t see the Knicks playing worse offensively than they did, and even if the defense slips, it won’t be enough for Boston to make up the difference in offensive efficiency, turnovers and rebounds.

Like somebody said earlier, it’s amazing what halfway competent point guard play can do for a team. I think the Knicks can make a run to the ECF and if we can get Tyson back at an energy level Kenyon Martin is playing at, we have as good a chance at taking down miami as anybody.

Will be interesting to see how Pacers/ Hawks goes today. Hopefully they beat themselves up for 7 games.

i was 12 and watching at home, sitting on the floor about 8 inches from the TV. other than the ewing three, i also distinctly remember ewing bothering bird on a dunk, forcing bird to try a reverse dunk, that clanged out of the rim